By Alyxandra Stanczak
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

By Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

Just days after the official withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, the United Nation’s High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has called on European countries to halt the return of Iraqi refugees to the country.   UNHCR’s appeal came in response to the forced return of 61 Iraqi refugees from four countries last week.   The Commissioner expressed concern about continuing violence within Iraq.  UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards told journalists that the Commissioner “strongly urge[s] European governments to provide Iraqis with protection until the situation in their areas of origin in Iraq allows for safe and voluntary returns.”

The latest round of forced deportations is the third in a series of efforts to send Iraqi refugees back to the war torn nation.  UNHCR issued guidelines to European governments hosting refugees recommending that they not be sent home until violence subsides.  The Commissioner reiterated that European nations ought to facilitate development efforts within Iraq.  Although 50,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq to train and support Iraq’s army and police forces, President Obama announced that all U.S. troops will leave the country by the end of 2011.

According to UNHCR, five provinces, including Baghdad, are sites of continued violence and human rights violations.  The Commissioner has encouraged European nations to offer Iraqi asylum seekers protective status as per the 1951 Refugee Convention.  UNHCR noted that the forced return of refugees may send a message to Middle Eastern countries harboring Iraqi refugees that protection of refugees is no longer necessary.  Currently 1.6 million Iraqi refugees reside in Jordan and Syria and another 50,000 in Lebanon.  

Although President Obama reported that “security incidents have been near the lowest on record since the war began,” UNHCR fears that refugees returning to Iraq will become victims of instability and violence.  Car bombings, kidnappings, and mortar attacks remain a daily occurrence within Iraq.  The Commissioner explained that all nations hosting refugees have a continuing obligation to protect those who have sought asylum until conditions within Iraq improve.

For more information, please see;

Agence France Presse – UNHCR Urges Halt to Unsafe Iraqi Refugee Returns – 3 Sept. 2010

Reuters Africa – U.N. Refugee Agency Blasts Europe for Deporting Iraqis – 3 Sept. 2010

New York Times – Iraq: U.N. Asks Europe to Halt Deportations – 3 Sept. 2010

Washington Times – Deportation of Iraqis from Europe Worries U.N. Agency – 3 Sept. 2010

By Alyxandra Stanczak
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East 

DAMASCUS, Syria – Student and blogger Tal Bint Dawser al-Ballouhi was summoned on 27 December 2009 by Syria’s intelligence apparatus, the Syrian Intelligence Services. The goal of the summoning was to interrogate al-Ballouhi about articles and poetry she wrote about her home country, Palestine, as well as Syrian and Arab affairs in general. After her interrogation, she was arrested and detained, and her family has not seen or heard from her since her disappearance.

Syrian authorities seized al-Mallouhi’s computer from her Damasucus home after her detainment. Al-Mallouhi specifically criticized the Partnership for the Mediterranean (an EU initiative to reach out economically to certain Arab countries), a French diplomatic initiative bringing together Arab and European countries, as well as Israel. The Syrian authorities have not commented on her arrest, which is common in the arrest of political activists.

Al-Mallouhi’s situation is not unique, as many Syrian bloggers have been arrested and sentenced to long prison terms. Syrians have turned to the internet as an outlet of news and information since print media in the country is largly regulated and censored by the government. Blogging has allowed citizens to express their opinions and obtain news to which they would otherwise not have access.

Al-Mallouhi’s Mother has appealed to Syrian president Bashar Assad and has attempted to make compelling pleas to the government for her daughter’s release. She has even gone so far as to talk to specific Syrian security branches and obtained a promise from one security branch that her daughter would be released before Eid ul-Fitr, or the end of Ramadan, which this year occurs on 10 September 2010. Al-Mallouhi’s mother does not believe this security branch will honor their deadline and is petitioning President Assad to intervene, citing that her daughter, who is a high-school student, did not know the political implications of her writings.

For more information, please see:

Arab News – Mother of young Syrian blogger appeals for her release – 3 September 2010

The Peninsula – Arrested blogger’s mom writes to Assad – 3 September 2010

Syrian Human Rights Committee – Humanitarian campaign for the release of prisoners of conscience – 2 July 2010

By Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

BEIRUT, Lebanon – Armed militias engaged in an intense four-hour firefight in the streets of Beirut after a dispute arose over a parking space.  The fighting pitted Hezbollah, an Iranian backed governmental organization many consider to be a terrorist group, against a rival militia.  The fighting left 3 dead and 11 others wounded.  Civilians recall snipers running through the streets and rocket propelled grenades being shot around a Beirut neighborhood.  Ten people have since been arrested for their involvement in the clash.

This outbreak in violence however, is not an isolated incident and the recent rise in hostilities between armed militias in Lebanon has received international attention.   Earlier today the United Nations voted unanimously to extend the mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), an international peacekeeping force in Lebanon, for at least another year.   UNIFIL currently operates approximately 12,000 troops in southern Lebanon.   Although UNIFIL’s primary mandate is to deter encroachment over the blue line between Israel and Lebanon, it recognizes that internal disputes within Lebanon may raise tensions between the two nations. 

Nadim Houry, the Beirut director at Human Rights Watch, told the Associated Press that many “people still in this country have RPGs in their homes.”  This fact allows street clashes to escalate quickly, threatening the lives of many civilians.  General Jean Kahwaji, in a statement to As-Safir, reports that the government will continue army operations in southern Beirut in order maintain peace.  General Kahwaji notes “what is important is that no one ignite a fire and then demand the army put it out.”  The Lebanese army has stepped up operations in Beirut in order to address fears surrounding the outbreak of another civil war in the country.

The Prime Minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri, has also repeated his call for militias to disarm.  The United States has already temporarily suspend $100 million of military aid money to the Lebanese government to support its ill-equipped army in response to concerns that Mr. Hariri is not doing enough disarm militias in his nation.  The Prime Minister stated that he will continue to examine an additional “series of measures.”

It is unlikely however, that Mr. Hariri’s order will be heeded.   Hezbollah is not only the largest militia in Lebanon, obtaining both financial assistance and arms from Iran, but it also is a party of the Lebanese government and has veto power.   Even Prime Minister Hariri himself notes that his call for a “weapons free” Lebanon does not apply to Hezbollah.   Although there is wide popular support for Hariri’s attempts to disarm Lebanese militias, many still support Hezbollah and rely on services provided by the organization.   Until a more comprehensive security arrangement can be agreed upon, the nation will likely continue to be the victim of internal violence. 

For more information, please see;

Daily Star Lebanon – Higher Defense Council Vows to increase Security Measures – 1 Sept. 2010

Daily Star Lebanon – UNIFIL to Maintain Troop Numbers After Clashes in South – 1 Sept. 2010

Agence France Presse – 10 Held Over Beirut Clash as government Mulls Arms Control – 31 Aug. 2010

Associated Press – Armed Militias: A Quandary for Lebanon, U.S. – 31 Aug. 2010

By Warren Popp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ADEN, Yemen – Upwards of 80,000 people have reportedly fled the southern Yemeni city of Loder. The massive displaced has been caused by the government alleged battle with al Qaeda-linked militants there. The government has reported that at least thirty-three people have been killed, including eleven soldiers, three civilians, and nineteen militants with alleged links to al Qaeda. Witnesses in Loder reportedly said that the fighting intensified after Sunday night, following the expiration of an ultimatum to militants to surrender.

A security official told the AFP that Yemeni forces have recently been able to enter the city and impose control over most of it, claiming that al Qaeda elements have since fled.

Al Jazeera reports that it is difficult to independently verify reports coming out of Loder, including government claims that only gunmen are left in the embattled city, because the city is surrounded by troops.

Southern Yemen was independent from the north from 1967 until its unification with the north in 1990. There have since been efforts in south Yemen to regain independence, including a failed succession bid in 1994. According to the Examiner, Southern Yemenis began protesting three years ago in an effort to obtain equal rights, triggered by escalating state violence and arbitrary arrests. The current coalition of groups, the Southern Movement, which has a range of demands from economic and social improvements to full independence for the region, is allegedly leading the present opposition, including calls for independence. The Examiner reports that nearly seventy percent of southerners are now in favor of succeeding from the north.

Southern Yemen is also believed to have become a haven for the al Qaeda affiliate in Yemen, the al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the ranks of which have allegedly been filled in part by foreign fights from states such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. Yemeni authorities claim that they killed AQAP’s second-in-command in Loder, along with eighteen other militants linked to AQAP.

Some opposition forces, including the prominent exiled south Yemeni leader, Ali Salem al-Baid, condemned the government’s “massacres” in the south, claiming, “The military campaign in Loder is aimed against our people’s resistance in the south,” and that the government’s claim that it is fighting al Qaeda is “an attempt to cover up the massacres committed against our people.”

Al Jazeera says that the separatist movement the government has been battling in the South may be related to the current siege. They cite Mohammed Al-Qadhi, a Sana’a-based journalist with The National newspaper, as saying, “The government is trying to use al-Qaeda as a pretext to attack movement activists who are pushing for independence for the south,” he said.

The Yemeni government fully stands by its position that it is battling elements of AQAP in Loder. The Yemeni army reportedly uncovered a large stash of weapons, including rockets and anti-tank weapons hidden in homes in the area, and the Yemeni Defence Ministry stated on its website that “Outlaw separatist elements” collaborated with al Qaeda in the clashes in Loder.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Yemeni Army Regaining Control of Southern City – 24 August 2010

Al Jazeera – Thousands Flee South Yemen City – 24 August 2010

United Press International – AQAP Leader Killed in Yemen – 24 August 2010

Examiner – Yemen Bombs Southern Town and Blames Al Qaeda, Dozens Dead and Wounded – 21 August 2010